The Federal Reserve on Wednesday followed through with a widely anticipated quarter-point rate cut, while at the same time announcing it will be ending its quantitative tightening process beginning in December. In his post-meeting press conference, Fed chair Jay Powell also said another rate cut in December “is not a foregone conclusion,” disappointing investors who had been counting on further easing.

In cutting the fed funds rate to a range of 3.75-4%, central bankers lowered the short-term benchmark to its lowest level in three years. The timing of the next move is up in the air, however, complicated by the ongoing government shutdown that is depriving market watchers of key economic data. “Although some important federal government data have been delayed due to the shutdown, the public and private sector data that have remained available suggests that the outlook for employment and inflation has not changed much since our meeting in September,” Powell said.

With rates still at restrictive levels, PGIM’s Daleep Singh, Vice Chair and Chief Global Economist, discusses the two-sided risks to the Fed’s mandate and the future path for rate policy.